Smart use of information technology gives businesses an edge during difficult economic times, said Dell chairman and CEO Michael Dell during a visit to Asia this week.

“Leaders will continue to tap into IT for innovation and efficiency, and doing so now will help organisations set themselves apart as the global economy inevitably improves,” Dell said. “We’ve seen that many times before, including in the 1980s and following softness in 2001.”

Dell identified three keys to smart IT:

• Increased standardisation and virtualisation;
• Better resource management that reduces IT maintenance;
• Greener computing that not only reduces carbon emissions but saves on energy costs.

Dell itself has reaped the benefits of such IT improvements: facility improvements and a global power-management initiative that switches off computers when not in use is saving the company about $3 million a year and reducing its carbon footprint by some 20,000 tonnes.

“Forward-looking businesses are using IT to target unnecessary cost and complexity,” Dell said.

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